Dry cell



Jan. 3, 1956 J. w, WABER 2,729,693

' DRY CELL Filed Feb. 16. 1954 F IG. INVENTOR James W. Weber ATTORNEY 1 1.1. 9f at conve t United States was R sEt-L James W s h ca o .1!- Application February 16, 1954, Serial P19; 419 650 8'C a ms- (C .367 3) One of the greatest -difljculties encountered in connectionwith the production'anduse of dry cells is"ki1'o:wn

' plosions not only rui'n 'the particular cells in'which they occur but likewise subject adjacentequipment' to damage through corrosion. Another serious'problem that has been encountered in connection with conventional dry'cells isthef da'mage due to wide temperature variations. Frequentlyevil-e111 cells are airborne theyare s'ubjected to'rela'tivelylow'temperatures and due to the diflfering coefficients of expansidn of the metallic cups and their seals,'fr'act'ufe'is gu teeommon and the results are comparable witht ho'se resulting from high pressure accumulations. n other words, leak age through such fractures 'as'may' o :1.u"' will damage the dry cell itself and any -surrounding material s. Moreover, dry cells are also frequently 'employed'intropi'c'alelimates Where again the differing'coefiicints of xperts n ca s trouble. v i In accordance with the pr esen't invention, his proposed to employ an envelope that will afford a" better electrical insulation than the'c'onvent'ional paper wrappers'fwhich they replace, such envelope 'bei'ng 'chara cterilre'd' by] its facility to'pass'hydrogen gas but exclude liquids "Sn-e 1 a5 water, ther eby preventing damage to adjacent equipment through the leakage 'of'anycorrosive solutiohs'the envelope also preventing dehydrationof the cell itself and thereby extending its shfilf fe and he nvelope also minimizing external 'cor'rosion from" outsidefinflnen'ces such as salt water or various other materialswhichwhuld tend to attack the zinc oro'ther metallic Moreover, the metallic cup is provided' with a ciosu're'atbna-eiia and either or both the cup and closure can be provided with one or more fine openings so, that any hydrogen formed within the cup can escape a's rapidlyas it is formed, thus eliminating anychance of: building up any appreciable pressures And since any hydrogen yyhich s l mthe on n Pass hr hiths oal ther l l e h drs sn as um latia ibstae hefqunan iv be any snse us lwa ts a1. ann la seal n ask ts ar em lo ed. wh oh. perm ela mom between theme ansislo ute a sl/nnhetw th. tarbon electrode and closure.

The cell of the present invention also contemplates the use of connectors capable of penetrating the protective envelope rendering the cell available for instant use in emergencies without the necessity of removing any wrapping. Moreover, this arrangement assures good elec- 2,729,693 I Batented Jan.

tricalcontacts while still retaining to a major degree the 'prp'tection atfor'ded by the envelope.

A ccor'dingf'to one of'its aspects, the invention may be ,expressedfas contemplating a dry" cell comprising a metal- 5 lie cn'p member containing a mass of mix, an electrolyte and a carbon electrode, a'closure member carried by the eup member, .onejof the members containing an opening, and a substantially liquid-tight hydrogen-permeable en'- velope completely surrounding'the members. Under certainicircumstances; the openingwill be formed through k the cup m emberitself while in other cases, it may be formed thro ugh'the closure, or hoth. The openingp'referablywhas a cross seetional dimension adequate for the escape of hydrogengas but substantially resistant to the .nassageo'f liquid such .as water or the electrolyte used in the cell. vThe envelope closely embraces the members and ,is preferably an elastomer, among which vulcanized natural.rubberhasproduced outstanding results. i The en- ,velopelis .expansible relative to the members and due to 9 its. inherent resilience will yield when any hydrogen pres- Suite is. produced .and then conform to the cell when the pressure has been reduced. from anotherstandpoint, the invention may be described as contemplating .adry cell comprising a metallic 2 5 cup .member-containingamass of mix, an electrolyte and a carbon electrode member, an. annular closure carried by the cup member, the closure containing an annular flq fiti andgan annular resilent sealing element received in the grQDYQ and yieldably engaging one of the members .39 n fluid ,tighttrelationship. The closure in such a case is preferably, an insulator although it can be spaced from the electrode members hyone or more sealing elements which will he of insulating material. A resilient sealing element of this type will. engage the carbon electrode member, the metallic cup member or both. Under. the latter.,setpfconditions, the closure contains inner and on p eripheral a grooveseach containing/anamient sea lmgelement, and the sealing elements engage electrodemember and metallic cup member to t $P i X-.- t kFi -n ally, the dry cell of; the present invent-ionmay be ssent d; al s-pomp. Ta a me a li cupmember conh rl i i le 9f ll fir i e e t oly and a carbon eleclqt e fi l ?-..-.1 t ca ried. by t r member, a substantially liquid-tight insulating envelope completely surronnding.atlcastpne oi the. members, a piercing elecupported adjacent the envelope in reg- I the o ,member adapted to establish an ough, the. envelope. The envelope surrounds. both of the members i t r i'cal; connectors arepreferably supported nyelope-in registlatipn with. the. members Flt- .-T ztac nnsc or may be nt p e enthe envelope and member or it may be, supported outside of the enyelope. in -either. event, the. connector may be d 1 )o ftins ulationl The connector may f il F Fllf l4t a condi i n and l wi hin 'en'vel e t st unsi rstaming ofithe invention will description of, the accompanying drawings,

1; is a,segtionaleleyation. taken througha dry cell embodying. the present, invention;

-,Eig. '21-is a fragmentary sectional elevation on an en-i l largedscale. of aportion of the dry cell depicted in.

The dry cell depicted in the drawings comprises a metallic cup having a closed bottom wall 12 receiving a bottom disc 14 and a cylindrical separator 16 within which a mass of depolarizing mix 18 is received about a centrally disposed carbon rod or electrode 20. Above the depolarizing mix a gas chamber 22 of the usual type is depicted. The zinc, magnesium, or other suitable metallic cup 10 is closed at its upper end by a closure 24 providing an outer annular groove 26 and an inner annular groove 28 receiving substantially toroidal resilient elastomeric rings 30 and 32 respectively, for sealing engagement with the inner wall 34 of the metallic cup and the outer wall 36 of the carbon rod respectively. These sealing elements 30 and 32 are of the type commonly known as O-rings which produce excellent fluid tight seals which resist the passage of liquids and gases even at relatively high pressures. The upper end of the metallic cup is crimped over to form an inturned flange 38 to retain the closure against outward axial movement. Above the depolarizing mix, the metallic cup is provided with an opening 40 and the closure is provided with an opening 42 of such cross sections that hydrogen gas can freely escape therethrough but liquids such as water or the contained electrolyte are prevented from passage. As usual, the upper end of the carbon rod extends through the closure 24 and is provided with a brass or other suitable metallic cap 44. Superimposed on the cap there is an insulator 46 supporting a piercing connector 48 adapted to provide electrical contact between the cap 44 and the load to be served by the cell. A similar insulating disc 50 is applied to the base of the metallic cup and supports a piercing connector 52 similar in configuration and function to the connector 48.

The entire construction thus far described is covered by a continuous, resilient, non-adherent layer or envelope 54 for which purpose vulcanized natural rubber, for example, can serve. It is of primary importance that the material serving as the envelope permit hydrogen gas to pass therethrough but exclude the passage of water or other liquids.

In the event the connectors 48 and 52 are made integral with the cap 44 and cup 10 respectively, the insulating supports 46 and 50 will be unnecessary. In any event, the connectors will lie at one side of the envelope 54 until such time as use of the cell is required. At that time, the mere application of pressure to the ends of the cell will cause the piercing connectors to pierce the enclosing envelope so as to be accessible for electrical connection with conductive bodies for connecting the cell with the load.

A modification of the structure is depicted in Fig.- 4 wherein the connectors 48 and 52 are carried by insulating supports 46 and 50 respectively, externally of the protective envelope in which case these connectors and their sup ports will constitute a portion of the package containing the cell. Here again, it is only necessary to apply pressure against the connectors to cause them to pierce the envelope and make electrical contact with their respective electrode members.

Whereas only two forms of the invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, many variations will occur to those skilled in the art just as they have occurred to the present inventor and accordingly, the invention should not be restricted to the forms described beyond the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A dry cell comprising a metallic cup member contalnlng a mass of mix, an electrolyte and a carbon electrode, a closure member carried by said cup member, one of said members containing an opening, and a substantlally liquid-tight hydrogen-permeable envelope completely surrounding said members. i

2. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said opening is formed through said cup member.

3. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said opening has a cross sectional dimension adequate for hydrogen flow therethrough but substantially resistant to the passage of liquid.

4. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said envelope closely embraces said members.

5. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said envelope is an elastomer.

6. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said envelopeis expansible relative to said members.

7. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said envelope is resilient.

8. A dry cell as set forth in claim 1 wherein said envelope is vulcanized.

9. A dry cell comprising a metallic cup member containing a mass of mix, an electrolyte and a carbon electrode member, an annular closure carried by said cup member, said closure containing an annular groove, a substantially toroidal resilient sealing element received in said groove and yieldably and slidably engaging one of said members under compression in fluid tight relation ship and means provided by said cup member to maintain said closure member therein.

10. A dry cell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said closure is an insulator.

11. A dry cell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said resilient sealing element engages said carbon electrode member.

12. A dry cell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said resilient sealing element engages said metallic cup member.

13. A dry cell as set forth in claim 9 wherein said closure contains inner and outer peripheral annular grooves each containing a substantially toroidal resilient sealing element, and said sealing elements engage said electrode member and said metallic cup member respectively under compression.

14. A dry cell comprising a metallic cup member containing a mass of mix, an electrolyte and a carbon elec trode member, a closure carried by said cup member, a substantially liquid-tight insulating envelope completely surrounding at least one of said members, a piercing electrical connector supported adjacent said envelope in registration with said one member adapted to establish an electrical connection through said envelope.

15. A dry cell as set forth in claim 14 wherein said envelope completely surrounds both of said members and piercing electrical connectors are supported adjacent said envelope in registration with said members respectively.

16. A dry cell as set forth in claim 14 wherein said connector is interposed between said envelope and member.

17. A dry cell as set forth in claim 14 wherein said connector is supported in a body of insulation.

18. A dry cell as set forth in claim 14 wherein said connector contacts said member and lies within said envelope.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,329,917 Marko Feb. 3, 1920 1,549,851 Benner Aug. 18, 1925 1,653,800 De Olaueta Dec. 27, 1927 1,925,374 Deibel Sept. 5, 1933 1,941,725 Tyzzer Jan. 2, 1934 2,450,813 Reinhardt et a1. Oct. 5, 1948 2,642,471. Reinhardt et al June 16, 1953 

1. A DRY CELL COMPRISING A METALLIC CUP MEMBER CONTAINING A MASS OF MIX, AN ELECTROLYTE AND A CARBON ELETRODE, A CLOSURE MEMBER CARRIED BY SAID CUP MEMBER, ONE OF SAID MEMBERS CONTAINING AN OPENING, AND A SUBSTAN- 